PEORIA — Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner stopped in Peoria on Saturday in a bus with the message “Shake Up Springfield, Bring Back Illinois” painted on the sides. He urged people to vote in Tuesday’s primary.

“I’m not a politician, I haven’t run for office before,” Rauner said. “We’ve got to shake up Illinois and run it like a business.”

Whether on the sidewalk of Main Street Downtown or inside Haddad’s surrounded by supporters and the restaurant’s customers, Rauner repeated the four key points of his campaign to anyone in earshot: Lower taxes, more jobs, better schools and eight-year term limits for all state politicians. All of this, he said, was to combat the policies of Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.

“My focus is on Pat Quinn. He’s the worst governor in the country. He thinks we can tax ourselves out of these problems. We can’t. We have to lower taxes. ” Rauner said.

As for his Republican competitors — state Treasurer Dan Rutherford and State Sens. Bill Brady of Bloomington and Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale — Rauner said, “The problem with them is that they’ve been serving in Springfield for too long, all of them. We need to shake up Springfield, and I’m not sure those guys are capable of that.”

For Tremont resident Wayne Sutherland, who was there to support Rauner, the candidate’s message rang true: “I like the term limits. We have too many career politicians down there.”

Rauner, chairman of the GTCR private equity firm until 2012, has spent $6 million of his own money on his campaign. According to the latest polls from the Chicago Tribune, Rauner now has a 13-point lead over Dillard, his closest rival. That doesn’t mean Rauner was slowing down at all. He will continue on his “whirlwind tour” of Illinois until the primaries begin.

“We were in Carmine and Lawrenceville earlier today and we’re heading to Bloomington right after this,” Rauner said. “We’ve got Rockford, Quincy and a lot of other stops ahead of us before voting starts.”

Between handshakes, photos and even a selfie, Rauner spread his message to everyone, but also urged every single person he saw to vote Tuesday.

“We need everyone to vote so everyone is heard. Republican turnout can be low for primaries, so we need everyone to get out,” Rauner said. “Vote early, don’t vote often like they say in Chicago, but you have to make sure to vote.”

Zach Berg can be reached at zberg@pjstar.com or 686-3257. Follow him on Twitter @ZacharyBerg.